Engaging Life with Courage and Intelligence
The Automation of Delusion Social media can be used in purely benign, even positive ways. Sharing photos with our friends and relatives, joining community interest groups, and building businesses are almost always positive activities. However, our ever-evolving social media technologies can also afford us with an efficient method to join a cult, become addicted, or…
Delusion is Real Delusion is part of the human condition. Whether we admit it or not, we all misperceive, misconceive, or distort reality at some point or another. However, delusion can become a powerful tool for extremists of all political stripes. They can artfully delude themselves, delude others, or both. Those engaging in industrial-scale delusion…
Technology and Culture Many of us must believe that our current social media platforms are indispensable for discovering, interpreting, and understanding world events. These believers, particularly among our youngest citizens, trust that social media is the best way for them to stay informed about what is happening and to distinguish between truth and lies, as…
Father’s Day Mannon and Whitfield Vandiver, 1916 . Miracle at Oakmont J.J. Spaun sank a 64-foot putt on the 18th hole to win the 125th US Open at the rain-drenched Oakmont Country Club. He started with an unlucky five bogeys on his first six holes. However, his many competitors fell by the wayside on the…
Artificial intelligence can be used to control, deceive, and manipulate, or it can be used to remind us of our progressive, revolutionary past.
Knowledge is power, and COMPLETE knowledge is absolute power. Those who display the greatest paranoia and fear of being controlled and manipulated are unwittingly being distracted by a regime that will make their most alarming fears a reality. While the extremists on the Left and Right are fighting wars over LGBTQ+ rights, a little company…
The “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by our House of Representatives contains a 10-year moratorium on state and local laws concerning artificial intelligence (AI). There is much to consider in House Bill 1 (its official name is “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”). We know the bill has lots of pork, but if anyone criticizes this bill,…
Cringe: a feeling of embarrassment or discomfort in response to something awkward or unpleasant. Most of us, particularly younger people, have listened to confused fathers and uncles bloviating about topics they know little about. The fictional Archie Bunker from Queens, New York, is the perfect example. Here are some of his humorous witticisms: Archie was…
There can no longer be any doubt. The Trump Administration is hellbent on destroying American higher education. Trump is attacking higher education, as Mussolini did in 1931, Mao in 1968, and Viktor Orban in 2019. All dictators want to neuter and control the intellectual gold mines of their societies. This impulse is fueled by the…
When America was “great” between 1890 and 1932, there was an active, overtly criminal culture, particularly in large cities. The most famous criminal icon in this era was Al Capone of Chicago. Capone and his associates were able to control neighborhoods in many ways, including violence and intimidation. However, over time, many gangsters were able…